Two Kinds of Heroes
by BearfootTruck
Summary: While on another mission against Dr. Robotnik, Sonic & friends end up in Stalag 13. Now, not only do Sonic & his Heroes have to get back home in time to complete their mission, but they must help Colonel Hogan & his Heroes with another mission. Contains elements from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, SatAM & some from the post-Sonic Adventure games.
1. Chapter 1: Mass Production Monsters

It was a beautiful day in the village of Knothole. The sun was shining, the air & water were clean, the wildlife was doing well and things were quite peaceful. This place & the Great Forest were a world away from the city of Eggopolis, a city in a state of ruin. Formerly known as Emerald City, this urban center had become one large ghetto, a place on the verge of becoming a real war zone. No doubt this urban blight had been brought on by the iron policies of Dr. Ivo Robotnik, also known as "Dr. Eggman". The city held a certain something that was to set the main plot in motion.

Meanwhile, in Knothole, the only thing that was disturbing the peace was Sonic the Hedgehog. A blue hedgehog with super speed, Sonic was rocking out to the blazing riffs of Geddes Axe, with their tune "Escape from New York". However, he was interrupted by his friend Miles "Tails" Prower, an orange two-tailed fox who could match Sonic's speed with his ability to fly.

"Hey, Sonic, come here!" said Tails.

"Yeah, what is it buddy?" asked Sonic, who turned down his radio.

"I fixed up your Nintendo DS! Check it out!"

"Lookin' good, my two-tailed pal! Let's fire this baby up!"

The game system – an electric blue one – started up perfectly. However, as Tails was a mechanical wunderkind, he also added an extra cartridge slot for Sega Genesis games. This add-on gave considerable bulk to the portable, but that didn't matter to Sonic, who had booted up a copy of _Sonic the Hedgehog 2_.

"Oh yeah, now this brings back some memories!" exclaimed Sonic.

"Hey, Sugar-hog, what'cha got there?" asked Bunnie Rabbot, who just dropped by. A light brown rabbit with a Southern accent, Bunnie was unlike the other Freedom Fighters in that her legs & left arm had been robotized because of an attempt by Dr. Robotnik. This didn't get in the way of her optimistic attitude, though.

Sonic replied, "It's one of my old video games! Here, you can see how Tails & I first met!"

"Wow, that's pretty neat, hon!" remarked Bunnie.

"Sonic! Sonic!" called Sally Acorn as she ran over to Sonic's location. A brown squirrel with a tuft of brunette hair, she was usually the one to bring important news to the Knothole Freedom Fighters, being the top-ranking member next to Sonic himself.

"What is it, Sal?" asked Sonic, who paused his game.

"Sonic, Tails, Bunnie, I got this important message from Recon Group Six," she replied.

Around the world, there were various groups who assisted people like Sonic, whether by scouting out targets of opportunity or by assisting in other ways, and Recon Group Six was one of them.

"Well, let's read it!" exclaimed Sonic.

Tails & Bunnie gathered around to read this communiqué.

In short, the message said that Robotnik's forces had constructed a new mech factory within the Eggopolis city limits and was scheduled to begin production very soon. Rumor also had it that a new advanced type of mech was to start production at this plant and that security measures would be even tighter than usual as a consequence. Naturally, their mission, should they decide to accept it, was to destroy the factory and obtain any blueprints for the mechs if possible. As always, if Sonic or any of his friends were to be caught or killed, the monarchy in exile would disavow any knowledge of his actions.

Sonic tossed the paper away upon reaching the part where it said it would self-destruct in five seconds. At that time, the paper burned up by itself and left no traces.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" said Sonic. "Tails, you, Knuckles & I will go on ahead and check for trouble! Sal, you and the rest of the gang follow behind! Then, when we get to the robo-factory, we're gonna drive it straight into the ground – nothin' but blue skies and rubble! Juice time!"

Sonic & Tails sped off, looking for their third compatriot. As Sonic & Tails ran off, Bunnie said "Good luck!" and Sally said "Be careful, Sonic!"

After the dynamic duo disappeared, Bunnie remarked, "Wow, he is one brave hedgehog!"

"Yeah, but I'm worried about him," said Sally. "I do hope he & Tails are safe. Now, let's get ready!"


	2. Chapter 2: Robotnik's Reprehensible Ruse

Sonic & Tails came to a halt when they found Knuckles the Echidna relaxing in a tree's shade. This red Echidna had served as the guardian of the Master Emerald on his home of Angel Island, but also served as a part-time guardian of Knothole Village, one of the few bastions of freedom in a world gone mad.

"Hey Knuckles, what's up dude?" said Sonic.

"Not much," replied Knuckles. "Not that you'd care, anyways. What do you want, guys?"

"Didn't you hear? Robotnik's building a new mech factory!" said Sonic. "If we don't stop it, he's just gonna have more tin cans to flatten us with!"

"Ugh, doesn't that egghead ever give up?" wondered Knuckles.

"Knuckles, if he ever gave up, nobody else would hire us!" said Sonic. "Now come on, let's turn those robots into scrap metal!"

"Well, there goes another hour of peace & quiet," lamented Knuckles, who sped off with Sonic & Tails. Though he had little trouble keeping up with the Blue Blur or the Two-Tailed Wonder, what he really wanted to do was break something with his fists.

As the trio sped towards Eggopolis, they were unaware that one of the most wayward warps was being set up to ensnare them.

Meanwhile, Dr. Robotnik was observing them remotely via a floating camera bot. A rotund, balding man with a distinct mustache, Robotnik was perhaps the foulest villain on the face of Mobius, if not the universe. Though he possessed an above-average IQ and was extraordinarily cunning, his devious devices had been foiled time and time again by Sonic, and he'd had just about enough.

This time, however, he was thoroughly convinced that things would be different.

"Snively, what is our status on my new mech factory?" asked Robotnik.

"Good news, sir, the plant should be operational within an hour," said Snively. A short, nearly bald man with a distinct nose & nasally voice, Snively was not only Robotnik's assistant, but his nephew as well.

"Excellent," remarked Dr. Robotnik. "Now, we just need to get rid of the Hedgehog & his wretched little friends!"

"About that, sir," said Snively, "Scratch & Grounder are setting the trap for them right now!"

"Well, I do hope they succeed," said Dr. Robotnik, "This factory is too important to my operations. Once we get the Hedgehog, then the rest of his friends will fall! Heh heh heh heh heh heh!

* * *

Scratch & Grounder, meanwhile, had staked themselves out at a certain spot in the wilderness, just waiting for Sonic & crew to fall into the trap that they'd set up. Scratch was a robotic chicken with long legs. Grounder was a short robot with caterpillar tracks for legs, plus drill bits for his hands & nose. Often, Dr. Robotnik employed the robotic duo for field work despite the fact that they'd shown themselves to be incompetent on repeated occasions.

This time, though, could be different.

Scratch & Grounder were setting up a teleporter device in an attempt to send Sonic & co. to Robotnik's military prison. They carefully concealed the device so that it was invisible from a significant distance, yet would not be jammed or interfered with by the camouflage.

"There, it's all set!" said Scratch.

"Yeah, now we just gotta wait for that dumb hedgehog and his friends to cross the trap!" said Grounder.

"Did you remember to arm the teleporter device?" asked Scratch.

"No, I thought that was your job!"

"No way, that was your job!

"No, that was your job, you overgrown woodpecker!"

"No, it was yours!"

The two came to blows with each other, but Scratch spoke up and said "FINE! I'll arm it myself! Gosh, I have to do all the work around here!"

"Well, you wouldn't have to do all the work yourself if you got it right the first time!" chided Grounder.

"Oh yeah!? When was the last time any of YOUR plans ever worked perfectly, you pointy-nosed pinhead!?"

"Well, at least MINE work, unlike SOMEBODY I know! Now give me the remote, bird brain!"

Scratch, who had just armed the device, said, "HEY! I was supposed to be the one to press the button!"

"Aw, come on!" cried Grounder, "You just armed the thing, so I have to press the button!"

"Well, I'm the one who has to do all the work, so I'M going to press the button!" retorted Scratch.

"No you're not!"

"Yes I am!"

"No you're not!"

"Yes I am!"

Again, Scratch & Grounder got into a fight over the remote control, which lasted until Grounder said, "Hey, I think I can see 'em now!"

"Where?" asked Scratch.

"Over there!" said Grounder.

* * *

Off in the distance, Team Sonic was making good time.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," said Tails.

"Tails, you've got a bad feeling about a lotta things!" said Sonic. "We've been through some tough stuff before, and ya know what? We got through just fine! Loosen up…BOOOFF!"

Sonic was tackled to the ground by Amy Rose, a pink hedgehog who wore a red dress & headband. She was a persistent admirer and wannabe girlfriend of Sonic, though Sonic never reciprocated the feelings.

"Oh Sonic, it's soooo good to see you again!" said Amy. "Like, I've missed you soooooo much!1! Please come take a walk with me, Sonic! Let's take a moonlit walk down by the lake! Let's go shopping, see a movie and do all silly fun things with each other!"

"Amy, knock it off!" said Sonic, who tried to shake Amy off without much success. "Amy, we got a mission to complete! Let go of me! Besides, it's only been two days since ya last saw me!"

"Can I come along, Sonic, baby!? I promise I'll be good! PLEEEAAAASSEE!?"

Tails intervened and said, "Miss Amy, could you please let go of Sonic? We're kinda busy, plus, I don't think he likes you…"

Amy bashed Tails with her Piko Piko Hammer and yelled, "OMG, GET AWAY FROM MY BOYFRIEND, YOU LITTLE STINKER!11!1!"

"Oh, brother," lamented Knuckles as he rolled his eyes.

"HEYYYY! I HEARD THAT, YOU DWEEB!" shouted Amy.

"Hey, l-let's not fight over this, A-Amy…" said Knuckles, terrified by Amy's demeanor.

"THAT'S RIGHT YOU DON'T FIGHT OVER THIS!" shouted Amy in her continuous over-reacting behavior. Calming down a bit, she turned to Sonic and said, "Well, what do you say, Sonic!? Are you with me!?"

"Gee, Amy…" said Sonic, pretending to fidget around nervously, "I'd love to, but…uh…Gotta flee, Bree!"

Sonic grabbed Tails & Knuckles, and the three of them fled as fast as they could.

"HEYYYYYYYYYY! Wait for meeeeeeeee!" shouted Amy as she chased after them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Scratch & Grounder were waiting for Sonic & friends to arrive.

When the trio got close, Scratch said, "There they are! Press the button, drill-head!"

"Got it!" replied Grounder, who pressed the proverbial red button once the heroes were just about on the teleporter.

"WHOA!" exclaimed Sonic. "Haannnng ooooooonnnnnnn…"

Sonic, Tails & Knuckles disappeared into nothingness, apparently incarcerated in Robotnik's prison.

Weirdly enough, Scratch & Grounder both experienced some unusual electrical interference while the teleporter was activated.

"Hey, did you feel that!?" asked Scratch.

"Yeah, that thing must've been real powerful!" replied Grounder. "But who cares? I did it!"

"WE did it, bozo!" snapped Scratch. "Now let's call the big boss before he sends us to the junkyard!"

Unlike Scratch & Grounder, a certain pink hedgehog was not happy about the disappearance of the Blue Blur.

"Sonic, honey, where are you!?" she yelled after stopping near the teleporter pad. "Sonic, where did you go!?"

Amy searched frantically for Sonic, to no avail.

"Sonic, what happened!?"

No reply.

"Sonic, this isn't funny!"

Again, silence.

"Sonic, respond! Sonic?! SOOOOOONNNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC!1!"


	3. Chapter 3: An Unexpected Stop

"Good news, Your Evilness," began Grounder, who was using his built-in phone to call Dr. Robotnik, "We just captured Sonic and his dumb ol' friends, too!"

"Excellent," replied Dr. Robotnik. "For once, I have made a wise decision to trust you two! Return to base, and we'll discuss your reward!"

"OK! We'll be right there!"

Grounder hung up the phone, while Scratch collected the teleporter pad & remote control.

"Gee, I wonder what Eggman's got in store for us!" said Scratch.

"Hey, don't get any funny ideas!" said Grounder. "After all, I'M the one who pressed that button!"

"Oh, go drill yourself, poindexter!" retorted Scratch.

"Ah, whatever!" snapped Grounder.

* * *

Meanwhile, a few clicks away, Sally & Bunnie were following in Sonic's footsteps, aided by Antoine Depardieu (or D'Coolette, depending on who you talk to or where he lives), a French coyote with tan fur who had once been a royal guard; and Rotor Walrus, a gray walrus with a yellow baseball cap. As a mechanical genius, Rotor often collaborated with Tails.

Around this time, night was beginning to fall.

"Guys, I am thinking that we should turn around 360 degrees!" said Antoine, afraid of whatever might lay in wait in the wilderness.

"Aw, come on, darlin'!" said Bunnie, "Y'all are gonna miss the fun!"

"Foon?" replied Antoine, "H-how can I be to having foon when we have not knowing where Sonic is?"

"Come to think of it, where is he?" wondered Sally. To aid them, Sally took out NICOLE, a portable computer that resembled a tan flip-up cell phone.

"NICOLE, run a check on Sonic's location," requested Sally.

"Executing trace…" replied NICOLE in her sultry female voice. A few seconds later, NICOLE said: "Sorry, I cannot locate Sonic's life force within a thousand miles of your location.

"That's odd," remarked Sally. "They shouldn't have gone that far."

"D-d-do you think they got eating by a…whenwolf?" asked Antoine, shaking with fear.

"It's 'werewolf', Antoine," replied Rotor. "Besides, werewolves are a myth! You must've been watching too many Lon Chaney movies!"

"W-who?" asked Antoine.

"Ah, just forget it, Antoine," replied Rotor.

Despite the disappearance of their recon team, Sally's group was having a rather easy time going to the factory until…

"HALT! You are in a protected territory!"

Sally & the others were ambushed by some of Robotnik's SWATbot commandos.

Being outnumbered and outgunned, they had no choice but to surrender and be hauled off to one of Robotnik's correctional facilities. The SWATbot commandos twitched a bit as if they were electrically shocked, as did Bunnie…

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Robotnik's hideout, Snively came to see his uncle regarding a little twist:

"Sir, we seem to have a problem…"

"Drat!" exclaimed Robotnik. "Every time we have a problem, my plans always go wrong! First, the electrical system, and now this! What is it, Snively?"

"The Hedgehog & his friends are not in the brig, sir!" replied Snively.

"WHAT!? Scratch & Grounder told me that the meddlesome Hedgehog had crossed the teleporter! Did you see any signs of escape or sabotage, Snively?"

"No sir; everything is as it should be."

"Well, send out a recon team! That Hedgehog could be anywhere by now! I'll deal with Scratch & Grounder later!"

"Yes, sir!"

Snively started walking away so he could carry out his uncle's orders, but then he turned around and said, "Sir...I have some good news…"

"Oooh…this sounds promising!" remarked Robotnik. "Please, do tell me!"

"…a SWATbot commando team has captured four of the Freedom Fighters and should be bringing them here any moment now!" said Snively.

"Very good, indeed! Those four should provide some excellent bait four our trap, heheheheheheh!"

* * *

Upon arrival, Robotnik began his interrogation of Sally, Bunnie, Antoine & Rotor, who were all encased in special electrified force fields.

"So, it appears that your little rebellion has come to an end!" said Robotnik. "Now, you will tell me the location of that meddlesome Hedgehog and his friends!"

"We don't know where they are!" replied Sally.

"Very well," said Robotnik. "I have a special way of making you talk, though…"

Robotnik threw a switch and gave the four Freedom Fighters a nasty, yet non-lethal electric shock.

"Now," said Robotnik, "tell me, where is the Hedgehog?"

"We're serious," pleaded Sally, "We don't know where Sonic is!"

"She's right!" added Bunnie. "Can't y'all just…"

"SILENCE!" shouted Robotnik. "I admire your courage, but I know when someone is lying to me!"

Again, Robotnik gave them an electric shock.

"You are trying my patience," said Robotnik, "but I would be happy to keep torturing you until you talk! Now tell me the truth: Where is Sonic the Hedgehog and where are his blasted friends!?"

"M-m-m-m-monsieur R-r-r-robotnik…" said Antoine, trembling in fear, "c-could you p-p-p-please to l-l-l-l-let us…g-go? We have n-n-not any i-d-d-d-d-dea where this 'edge'og is! C-c-c-c'est vrai!"

"My, you folks are awfully persistent!" noted Robotnik. "Very well, here's another one!"

Suddenly, Scratch & Grounder burst in before Robotnik could administer another shock.

"WHAT IS IT!?" demanded Robotnik. "Why do you burst in here and disrupt me when I'm busy!?"

"We came to get that reward, Your Evilness!" replied Scratch.

"Yeah!" said Grounder.

"YOU FOOLS!" yelled Robotnik. "There is no reward because the Hedgehog and his friends are missing!"

"WHAT!?" exclaimed the two robots, dumbfounded by this revelation.

"But that can't be…yow!" said Grounder, as he and Scratch got hit with one of those mysterious shocks, which also coincided with the building's electrical system flickering.

"Yeah! We set everything up properly! We saw them get zapped!" added Scratch.

"WELL, SEE FOR YOURSELVES!" shouted Robotnik.

"Yes sir!" said Scratch & Grounder, who promptly went to the brig. Their gait was a bit stunted due to the mysterious electrical interference, though.

"In the meantime," said Robotnik, "I shall continue until you vermin give me what I want! Hahahaha!"

Robotnik threw the switch again, but nothing happened. More accurately, it appeared that Bunnie was the only one receiving shocks. Furthermore, the electrical force fields seemed to be flickering just like every other electrical device.

"What!?" exclaimed Robotnik. "What is wrong with this contraption!?"

"Oh my stars! What the halibut's goin' on!?" exclaimed Bunnie.

Taking advantage of the force field's temporary instability, the rest of the Freedom Fighters rushed to try to help her.

"So, taking advantage of my malfunctioning equipment, are we?" said Robotnik to himself. "Well, let's see who has the advantage now!"

Robotnik pressed an alarm button that had SWATbots responding to the interrogation room within seconds. Though Robotnik initially had to press this button a few times, he eventually got it going. As the SWATbots stormed in, Robotnik shut off the force fields.

"You Freedom Fighters were almost lucky this time," said Robotnik, "but I'll be doing some more interrogations later! SWATbots, take them all to the brig!"

The SWATbots did exactly that.

* * *

Meanwhile, Team Sonic found themselves in a strange place, a camp of some sort. Compared to Robotnik's operations, it looked quite primitive. The camp they were in was surrounded by a fence topped with barbed wire. Other than that, security looked minimal, with only a couple of MG-equipped guard towers near the entrance. The camp had a number of wooden barracks within its borders.

For now, The Blue Blur & his friends were undetected, despite the fact that morning was upon them.

"Where are we?" asked Tails.

"Yeah, and what happened?" asked Knuckles.

"I don't know," said Sonic, "but I can tell this don't look so good! Let's zoom!"

Before any of them could move, though, a voice shouted "ACHTUNG! Intruders!"

The trio turned around to see a soldier wearing a gray uniform & a Stahlhelm. The man was armed with an MP-40 submachine gun.

"Was ist los?" asked the soldier, who had never seen any humanoid animals in real life. "What are you things, anyway?"

"Good question," said Sonic. "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, and if you'll excuse me, my friends and I gotta run!"

Sonic attempted to blast through the fence, but he got zapped when he didn't realize that it was electrified. After shaking it off, he attempted to find another way out, but he & his friends ran into some more soldiers.

"Uh-oh, I think we're in big trouble, Sonic!" said Tails.

"All right, just what I needed!" exclaimed Knuckles, eager for some action. "Come on, I'll take all of you on!"

"Do not move, creature!" said one of the guards. "If you do, we will shoot you!"

"All right, what did Robotnik put you up to this time!?" asked Sonic.

"Robotnik…?" replied a guard. "Ich verstehe nicht." He and his fellow guards discussed this for a few seconds, which would've been a good opportunity for our heroes to escape had they not been surrounded. Tails could fly, but it would be very difficult for him to carry both Sonic & Knuckles at the same time, so the trio was stuck.

"Come, it is almost time for roll call!" said another guard. "Los!"

So, the guards marched Team Sonic off to the main grounds of the camp. Unlike Sally & the other Freedom Fighters, Sonic & his squad did not have the benefit of being incarcerated in familiar surroundings, but little did they know that these surroundings would provide them with an adventure of their own.


	4. Chapter 4: La Cage aux Heroes

Meanwhile, Sally's squad was trying to find a way out of their prison. Since Robotnik had confiscated most of their tools, they struggled to get out.

"Bunnie, are you OK, mon cherie?" asked Antoine. "What 'ad 'appened to you?"

"I'm fine now, Antoine," replied Bunnie. "I just felt like I done been dragged across a shag carpet, though!"

"We've got to find a way out of here!" said Sally. "The longer we're kept here, the less of a chance we'll have of finding Sonic!"

"But how?" asked Rotor. "I can barely do anything without my tools! Man, I hate it when Robotnik touches those!"

"Don't worry, Rotor," replied Sally. "We've been through this before. We should find a way out somehow!"

And indeed they did! The unusual electric interference came back, deactivating the electronic locks on the jail cell doors. However, Bunnie was also affected by this, as usual.

"Bunnie!" exclaimed Sally.

The electrical disruption stopped, but Bunnie was curled up on the floor.

"Bunnie, can you walk?" asked Sally. "We must leave before this happens again!"

"Aw shucks, I don't know!" replied Bunnie. "I can't even feel my legs!"

"Guys, help me carry her!" said Sally. "NICOLE, download a map of this building!"

"Accessing data…GZZZT! GZZZT!" NICOLE was temporarily disrupted by another one of those electrical shocks, as was Bunnie.

"Come on, keep it together, NICOLE!" said Sally.

"Please, make this stop!" begged Bunnie.

"Don't worry," said Sally, "we'll be out of here soo…WHOOOOAAAAA!"

The gang walked into a teleporter field similar to what Scratch & Grounder had set up earlier to catch Sonic.

* * *

When they came to, they found themselves in the same place that Sonic, Tails & Knuckles were teleported to.

"What is this place?" asked Rotor.

"I do not know," said Antoine, "but I am thinking that it does not look so good!"

"NICOLE, are you all right?" asked Sally. "Find out where we are!"

"Searching…" said NICOLE. A few moments later, "Location identified: Luft Stalag 13 prison camp, 124 miles north of Hammelburg, Germany."

"WHAT!?" exclaimed the group, who somehow managed to go unheard by the camp guards.

"Ah non, c'est terrible!" said Antoine.

"Why Germany?" wondered Rotor. "What could Robotnik have out here?"

"I don't know," said Sally, "but we've got to find Sonic! Bunnie, can you walk?"

"Yeah, I think so," replied Bunnie. "My poor ol' legs still feel cattywonkered, though."

"OK, then we must find…"

Sally was cut off when she spotted the guards carrying Sonic, Tails & Knuckles off to roll call.

"Over there!" cried Sally.

The others went after them, but Sally said, "Wait! Don't go out there! We don't want to attract any more attention…yet!"

So, the group followed Team Sonic stealthily, observing as the prisoners lined up for roll call.

At Sonic's end, things were still fairly smooth considering the unusual situation that he'd been placed in. He, Tails & Knuckles were lined up along with the rest of the prisoners at Stalag 13, who were mainly American, British and French air force personnel, though there were a few Soviets interned at this camp, too. Among the current prisoners, there was muffled discussion regarding their new arrivals, for obvious reasons.

The guards who had apprehended Sonic & co. told Sergeant Hans Schultz about the new prisoners they'd apprehended. Schultz, an obese man in his 50's with a mustache, was the sergeant of the guards at Stalag 13, and being a rather oblivious fellow, he simply nodded and acknowledged the report from his fellow guards without any idea about who they were. Thus, Schultz began counting the prisoners, starting from the right (the prisoners' right).

"One, two, three, four five…" Schultz counted over the first five men without incident and then got to Sonic: "Six, seven…"

However, just when he was about to count Knuckles off, he turned towards the trio with an astonished look on his face.

"What the…!?" exclaimed Schultz. "Oh nooo! No no!" Schultz then ran into the Kommandant's office.

"Gee, what's his problem?" wondered Sonic. "Hasn't he ever seen a hedgehog before?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Schultz dashed past Hilda, the blonde, pig-tailed secretary to Colonel Wilhelm Klink; and barged right into Klink's office.

Colonel Klink was a balding, clean-shaven man in his mid-40's who almost always wore a monocle. Even in war, he enjoyed the finer things in life, as evidenced by the fancy wooden desk in his office, amongst other things.

When Schultz barged in, Klink was nearing the end of a phone call:

"…yes, of course, General Burkhalter! Heil Hitler!" Klink then hung up the phone and asked, "Schultz, what do you want now?"

"Herr Kommandant, you have got to come see this!" replied Schultz.

"Schultz, every time you say that, it turns out to be a big waste of my time!" said Klink. "Besides, shouldn't you be out doing roll call?"

"That's it," said Schultz, "I was taking roll call & I saw something odd!"

"Well, on second thought," said Klink, "this sounds important, so I'll come out just this once! But, if you're wasting my time, you're going to be in serious trouble! Do you understand, Schultz?"

"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant!" replied Schultz.

Klink & Schultz went outside, where Schultz pointed out the humanoid animals that were now part of the labor force at Stalag 13. Initially, Klink was dumbfounded by what he saw, and in fact, he took out his monocle, wiped it off and put it back on just to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

When it became apparent that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, Klink stormed on over to Team Sonic and demanded, "All right, what are you doing here!?"

"We got zapped over here by some of Robuttnik's goons!" replied Sonic. "Now tell me, what's Robuttnik putting you up to, baldy!?"

"What kind of nonsense is that!?" said Klink, who was both annoyed by Sonic's supposed absurdity and confused as to what Sonic meant.

"Ah, come on, don't play dumb with me!" said Sonic, "I know Robuttnik's put ya up to something, and we're gonna find out!"

"ENOUGH!" shouted Klink. "I do not know what you're talking about, and if you keep up with this nonsense, you'll be spending a lot of time in the cooler!"

Then, Tails intervened and told Sonic, "Uh…Sonic, I don't think this guy even knows who Dr. Robotnik is."

"Hmmm…maybe you're right, Tails," replied Sonic, who then turned to Klink: "OK, so if you're not part of Robuttnik's outfit, then who are you, baldy?"

"I am Colonel Wilhelm Klink, Kommandant of Stalag 13!" said Klink with a slight air of pompousness. "Now, might I find out who you are?"

"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, the fastest thing alive!" replied Sonic. "This is my buddy Tails, and that's Knuckles the Echidna!"

Tails & Knuckles both said "hi" with different degrees of enthusiasm.

"Well then, Sonic," said Klink, "even if you are as fast as you say you are, you're not getting out of here fast! You see, there has never, ever been a successful escape from Stalag 13!"

"Oh really?" said Sonic, "Well, I'll see about that one soon enough!"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Knuckles, who raised his fists, "I could take you all on if I wanted to! Come on, bring it!"

"That's enough foolishness out of you, young man!" warned Klink. "Do you want to get locked in the cooler?"

"What do you think I am, a can of soda!?" retorted Knuckles.

"Don't play dumb with me, young man…er, whatever you are!" warned Klink. "I am very serious about my job! You would not like me when you play dumb with me!"

"Suuuuure." said Knuckles.

Klink then walked over to Colonel Robert Hogan, another one of the (human) prisoners. Colonel Hogan stood at 5'10" and had impeccably combed black hair. He wore a brown bomber jacket and a brown officer's cap.

"HO-GAAAANNNN!" exclaimed Klink, "Would you care to explain why I have talking animals as camp prisoners!?" pointing to Sonic & his two sidekicks.

Hogan looked over at Sonic & the others for a moment, and then said, "Well, would you look at that! I didn't know you had any new pets, Klink!"

"HOGAN, this is not funny!" said Klink. "I have seen many things at this camp ever since you got here, but this is something else!"

"Hmmm, I gotta say, you're right, Klink!" said Hogan. "It's not every day you see stuff like that at this camp! Don't know how they got there, though."

"And this is the truth, Hogan?"

"Klink, have I ever lied to you before?"

Klink looked at Hogan for a few seconds, with a look of both wonderment & suspicion, but simply told Hogan, "Hogan, DIS-missed!"

The prisoners all went back to their barracks.


	5. Chapter 5: A Slight Change of Plans

Team Sonic followed Colonel Hogan & his men into their barracks, while Sally & the rest of the Freedom Fighters followed suit. When Sonic saw Sally again, he was elated.

"Sal, it's good to see ya again, baby!" said Sonic.

"Oh Sonic, I never thought I'd see you again!" said Sally, who gave Sonic a big hug.

After they finished their hug, they turned towards Hogan & his Heroes.

"Whoa, you didn't tell me you were bringing friends here!" said Hogan.

"C'est tres bizarre!" remarked Corporal Louis LeBeau.

"Cor blimey, I've never seen anything like this!" said Corporal Peter Newkirk.

"Now that's something else!" marveled Sergeant James Kinchloe.

"Wow, talking animals!" exclaimed Sergeant Andrew Carter. "Colonel, can I keep one as a pet?"

"You can take one and stick it in your nose!" retorted Newkirk.

"Hey man, I ain't nobody's pet!" said Sonic."

"OK," said Hogan. "Moving on now. What's your name?"

"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog," replied Sonic. "Leader of the Knothole Freedom Fighters! Also known as the Blue Blur, Speed Demon, and the Fastest Thing Alive!"

"Well, Sonic," said Hogan, "I'm Colonel Robert Hogan of the US Army Air Force."

"Nice to meet you, man!" said Sonic, who, in an historic moment, shook hands with Hogan, after which he introduced his friends to Hogan. Likewise, Hogan introduced his Heroes to Sonic & the Freedom Fighters.

Now, about Hogan's Heroes: Corporal Louis LeBeau was a member of the French Resistance. Standing at only 5'1", clad in a brown coat plus a red scarf & beret, LeBeau was not an especially imposing figure, but he was still a good soldier, amongst other things.

Corporal Peter Newkirk, a member of the RAF, stood 5'9", had slightly grayed hair and wore the traditional blue uniform of the RAF, including a garrison cap. He had plenty of sneaky tricks up his sleeves, whether playing cards or carrying out a mission.

Sergeant James Kinchloe, often known as "Kinch" for short, was the team's radioman. The only black "Hero" (but not the only black POW in Stalag 13), Kinch stood a little over six feet tall, had natural hair & a mustache and wore a field jacket & jeep cap.

And finally, Sergeant Andrew Carter served as the demolitions expert for the team. Coming in at 5'10", he had sandy blond hair & a trim figure. Like Hogan, he also wore a brown bomber jacket, but he wore a pile cap instead of an officer's cap.

LeBeau seemed interested in meeting Antoine, and the two carried out a conversation in French:

« D'ou êtes-vous? » asked LeBeau.

« Je suis de Knothole » replied Antoine, «mais je suis né a Marseille . Knothole, c'est un petit village dans la forêt.»

« Ah. Et quel est votre travaille ? »

« J'ai travaillé dans la Garde Royale de Mobius, mais après le Docteur Robotnik a renversé la famille royal, je suis devenu un membre de la résistance. »

« C'est très intéressant ! Je vais aimer travailler avec vous ! »

During this conversation, Sonic interrupted and said, "Well, it was nice meetin' ya, Colonel, but I got places to be! Gotta juice, Bruce!"

Sonic then attempted to escape, but Hogan interrupted him, saying, "Hold on, now! You can't leave just yet!"

"Yeah, we need your help, man!" added Kinch.

"Guys, we'd love to stay, but we really gotta go!" said Sonic. "What could ya possibly need us for?"

"OK, here's the situation:" began Hogan, "A few days ago, Kinch intercepted a transmission from the Germans. According to this message, the Germans are building a factory to produce a new type of tank. Unfortunately, we don't know exactly where the factory is. All we know is that it's near Hammelburg somewhere and that the tank is codenamed the 'E-75'."

"Well, I'll be!" exclaimed Bunnie, "That sounds just like what we was fixin' to do!"

"Bunnie's right," agreed Sonic, "we got our own mission to complete, so you're gonna have to find some other guy for the job!"

"Well now, that's a right shame, isn't it?" said Newkirk. "We 'aven't even found the factory yet and you're already goin' to Harry!"

"Now wait a second," said Hogan, "what could be more important than helping us destroy a tank factory?"

Sonic told Hogan about his mission and how he got to Stalag 13. Sally filled in the blanks by telling about how she was captured by Dr. Robotnik and managed to escape.

"Very interesting story!" remarked Hogan. "Well, I'm sure you can get back to your mission soon. Only problem is, we don't have one of those tele-whatsits you were talking about."

"Ah, I didn't need one anyways!" said Sonic. "I'm outta here! Smell ya later!"

"Yeah, me too!" said Knuckles.

However, before Sonic & Knuckles could incite anyone else to leave, Sally grabbed both of them by their collars.

"Uh, we'd love to stay and help you with your mission…" said Sally, a bit embarrassed at first, but switching to a stricter tone of voice: "…WOULDN'T we, guys!?"

"Uh…Oh right, yeah!" replied Knuckles.

"Yeah, sure," replied Sonic, who was not as scared of Sally as Knuckles might have been. However, he thought to himself, "Whatever, Sal."

"OK, then it's settled!" said Hogan.

"Yay, I get to work with talking animals!" exclaimed Carter.

"Carter, don't get too excited," said Newkirk.

"Now, what kind of tank did you want us to destroy, Colonel Hogan?" asked Sally.

"It was an E-75," replied Hogan.

Sally brought out NICOLE and said, "NICOLE, bring up any information on the E-75 tank."

"Accessing…" said NICOLE. A few moments later: "Data located" NICOLE then displayed the following data, along with blueprints of the tank:

"E-75 HEAVY TANK

Hull length: 21 feet

Overall length: 37 feet, 4 inches

Width: 12 feet, 4 inches

Height: Approximately 11 feet

Weight: 94.25-100.86 tons, exact weight unknown

Crew:

-Commander

-Gunner

-Driver

-Radioman

-Loader

Armor: 5-10 inches

Primary armament: 1x 128mm KwK 44 L/55 cannon

Secondary armament: 2x 7.92mm MG 45 machine guns

Engine: Maybach HL 295 Ausf. A V-12 gasoline engine, 1200 HP

Power-to-weight ratio: 12.73-11.89 HP per ton, exact ratio unknown

Transmission: ZF 5-speed manual

Suspension: Belleville washers

Ground clearance: 19.69 inches

Fuel capacity: Unknown

Fuel mileage: Unknown

Top speed: 18.64 miles (projected)"

"Man, that is outta sight!" exclaimed Kinch, referring to NICOLE. "I wish I had one of those! Where'd you get it?"

"Actually, this one was custom-made." replied Sally. "My parents made it for me…" Sally seemed to trail off into a slight depression as she thought of her parents, the king & queen of Mobius.

"Wow, that's cool!" said Tails, who was interested in the E-75.

"Yeah, that's pretty impressive!" said Rotor, who carefully inspected the blueprints of the tank just as Tails was doing.

At first, Sonic didn't pay much attention, looking rather bored as NICOLE rattled off the stats of the E-75. However, when NICOLE finished her spiel, Sonic looked at the E-75 specs and said, mockingly, "You guys want us to smash THESE antiques!?" He then started laughing.

"Oh sure, go ahead and laugh, funny boy!" said Newkirk. "You won't be laughin' when you're brown bread!"

"Newkirk's right," said Sally, who put her hand on Sonic's shoulder, "They may not be as advanced as a mech, but they can still kill you. Your speed may not always help you, either."

"Are you kiddin', Sal!?" retorted Sonic, "Those antiques couldn't catch yours truly in a million years!"

"Ugh…" lamented Sally, who turned to Hogan and told him: "Forgive him, Colonel. He gets arrogant sometimes."

"That's OK," replied Hogan, "It happens to the best of us sometimes. Now, since we weren't expecting you folks to drop in, we're going to have to change the plan a bit. Here's what we do…"

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Dr. Robotnik's lair, things were not going so well for the Doctor. Snively, Scratch & Grounder had all been called for a status update.

"Tell me," asked Robotnik, "have any of you found the Hedgehog or any of the other freedom fighters?"

"No, sir," said Snively.

"No, Your Vileness," said Scratch.

"Nope," said Grounder.

"THEN FIND THEM!" yelled Robotnik. "Scratch & Grounder, go check at the factory! Snively, you stay here and check on my SWATbot recon teams. If the Freedom Fighters succeed, I'm going to send you all to Robot Jones' Locker! Is that clear!?"

"Yes sir!" said the trio. Scratch & Grounder set off for the factory and got another mysterious shock on their way out.

"Man, I don't get why Robotnik makes us do all the legwork!" said Scratch.

"Yeah, I'd rather be in Hawaii right now!" said Grounder.

"Oh, come on, Hawaii is so over-rated!" retorted Scratch. "Everyone knows Polynesia is better!"

"Is not!" snapped Grounder.

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Aw, shut up, dingbot! Yow!" Scratch & Grounder received another shock as they got on their way.

* * *

***No, that's not a misprint. The MG 45 was a simplified variant of the MG 42. However, in real life, it didn't enter production.**


	6. Chapter 6: A Surprise Visitor

As Hogan was discussing the new plan with Sonic, a gray Mercedes-Benz W31 typ G4 staff car pulled up to Klink's office. Out of the car stepped General Albert Burkhalter, chief administrator of the Luft Stalags. Burkhalter was an obese man in his 60's who was clean-shaven and had a dueling scar underneath his right eye.

General Burkhalter walked into Colonel Klink's office to find Klink in an odd mood. Ordinarily, Klink was happy to see the General, but because of Sonic's arrival, he was just sitting there, pensive, trying to comprehend the current situation. However, Burkhalter's presence snapped Klink out of this funk.

"General Burkhalter, I have nearly had it with this place!" exclaimed Klink as he jumped up from his chair.

"Really?" inquired Burkhalter. "I did not think you would make such a wise decision. What is it now, Klink?"

"It's about these new prisoners!" replied Klink.

"This place gets plenty of new prisoners," said Burkhalter. "What's so special about a few more?"

"General Burkhalter," began Klink, "these prisoners are…talking animals!"

"Klink, are you putting me on?" asked Burkhalter.

"Why, no, Herr General!" replied Klink, who put on a smile in an attempt to look honest. "Have I ever lied to you before?"

"Sadly." said Burkhalter in a flat, sarcastic tone of voice.

Klink's smile vanished briefly, but came back as he said, "Ah well, let me just show you, then!"

* * *

So, Klink took Burkhalter over to Hogan's barracks only to find that Sonic & the other new arrivals weren't present. Instead, Hogan & his men were sitting at the table playing cards. They stopped to look at the two German officers briefly, and then continued their game.

"Klink, what is the point of this?" questioned Burkhalter. Klink was astonished when he saw that Sonic was absent.

"I'm telling you, Herr General, they were right here just a few minutes ago!" replied Klink.

"Klink, have you been drinking?" asked Burkhalter.

"No, Herr General!" replied Klink. "Even ask Colonel Hogan! That mischievous American is always up to something!"

Colonel Hogan stopped what he was doing and turned his eyes back to the German duo when he heard his name called.

"Colonel Hogan, are you keeping animals in the barracks?" asked Burkhalter.

"Why no, General Burkhalter!" replied Hogan. "Everybody knows that's against regulations!"

"Good," said Burkhalter. "I should hope that you will continue to follow these regulations." Burkhalter turned towards Klink and said, "As for you, Klink, come outside with me."

Klink, who was looking rather frightened at this point, said, "Yes, Herr General."

The two exited the barracks. Once that was over with, Hogan said, "OK, you furry little guys can come out now!" Sonic & the Freedom Fighters then came out from their hiding places under various beds, tables and other nooks & crannies.

"Phew, I reckon that was a close one!" remarked Bunnie.

"Yeah, good job!" said Sonic. "By the way, if you guys got any extra seats, I'd like to join this card game!"

"Come on in, mate!" said Newkirk, who dealt some cards to Sonic.

* * *

Outside, meanwhile, General Burkhalter was having a serious talk with Colonel Klink.

"Klink, you have always been treading on thin ice," said Burkhalter. "Soon, you shall be treading on thicker ice."

"Really!?" said Klink, who was somewhat enthusiastic about this.

"Yes…" said Burkhalter, "…when you get to the Russian Front!"

Klink's enthusiasm changed to fear, "No, Herr General, anything but that!"

"If you do anything as foolish as what you did back there," said Burkhalter, "then you will be going there! Understood?"

"Yes, Herr General!" replied Klink.

"Good. Oh, and by the way, I'm sure you know of the new project being carried out by German industry near this place. Do me a favor, Klink, and make sure that no harm comes to that place."

"Of course, Herr General! No prisoner has ever successfully escaped from Stalag 13, so I am sure you can count on me!"

"You've already told me that a million times, Klink. Also, I am not so sure that I can count on you. The only reason I am entrusting you with the safety of this project is because you are the only Stalag within 10 kilometers of it."

Again, Klink's enthusiasm was dampened a bit, but it returned when Klink said, "Well, I haven't exactly counted how many times I have told that to you, but that's not important, is it? All that matters is that we keep the project safe, right?"

"Sure, Klink," said Burkhalter. "Goodbye." Burkhalter walked back to his staff car, but before he left, he turned around after a few steps and added, "Oh, and Klink…"

"Yes, Herr General?" said Klink.

"…Frau Linkmeyer's been feeling rather frisky lately. I think you would be the right person to settle her spirits. Also, she could use the inheritance."

"But Herr General, you're her sister! They're paying you good money, so I'm sure she doesn't need anything from me!"

"Well, they cut my pay! Goodbye!" Thus, Burkhalter got on his way, while Klink was trying to shake the thought of being married to Burkhalter's sister.

* * *

Meanwhile, everyone in Hogan's barracks was having a good time, except perhaps those who were playing cards. Newkirk won another game and was happy to gloat about it: "Survey says…I win again!"

"Man, that's the sixth time you've beaten me!" exclaimed Sonic. "How do ya do it?"

"Sorry, mate, but that's a secret!" replied Newkirk.

"Enough playtime, fellas!" said Hogan, "We've got to start working on that tele-mabob that Sonic told us about!"

According to the new plan set forth by Hogan earlier, the attack on the tank factory was to be delayed until a teleporter device could be constructed. That way, Sonic & the Freedom Fighters could make a quick getaway once the fireworks were set off. However, the proper components needed to build a teleporter weren't available here, as Sonic & crew were about to find out.

"NICOLE, bring up schematics for a teleporter device!" said Sally.

"Accessing…" said NICOLE. Unlike the E-75 specs, it didn't take so long to find the teleporter schematics.

"Whoa, those look complex!" said Hogan.

"Oui, I do not think it can be done," said Lebeau.

"Trust me, guys," assured Sonic, "We can do this!"

"Mate, where are you goin' to find one of these bloody microchips?" asked Newkirk.

"Oh, I know! Why don't we take a regular chip and shrink it with a microscope?" suggested Carter.

"Carter, shut up," said Newkirk.

"Hey, why don't we use vacuum tubes?" suggested Tails.

"Yeah, I've done a little bit of work with vacuum tubes!" said Rotor.

"You think it can be done?" queried Kinch.

"I don't know, mate," said Newkirk, "You might as well build the bloody thing out of stone knives & bearskins!"

"Hey, don't knock it until ya rock it!" said Sonic. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta get the correct parts for you guys!"

"Here, Sonic," said Rotor, who handed him a list of substitute components, "you'll need this!"

"Thanks, Rote!" replied Sonic. "Gotta fly, Sly!" Sonic then dashed through one of the secret escape tunnels and headed for the town of Hammelburg. Tails, meanwhile, went through another tunnel and flew around looking for the factory, map in one hand and camera in the other.

In Hammelburg, Sonic was lucky enough to find an electronics store and went in dressed up as a German officer, a disguise that he had whipped out from his bag of infinite disguises.

"Heil Hitler!" said the shopkeeper, a man in his 50's, who did the infamous "Nazi salute" as well. "How may I help you, sir?"

"Guten tag," said Sonic in a phony German accent, "I am Colonel Sonicheimer the Hedgehog, und I would like to order these components!"

Sonic handed the shopkeeper the list. The man was oblivious to the fact that it had been written in English, and simply said, "Yes, Herr Oberst, I shall see what I can do."

The shopkeeper went into his storeroom to gather up the necessary components. It hadn't been a few seconds before the man walked away that Sonic was impatiently tapping his foot.

"IIIII'mmm waaaaaiiiitiiiiiiiinnng," said Sonic, who also looked at his watch.

"Please, allow me a little more time, Herr Oberst!" begged the shopkeeper. Sonic wasn't a bad guy or anything; he was just impatient. Of course, given the nature of the German Army, his impatience would not be overly unusual here.

It wasn't too long, though, before the shopkeeper got all the stuff that Sonic needed for the teleporter.

"Here you are, sir," said the shopkeeper. "That will be 1 million Reichsmarks. How do you wish to pay?"

Sonic was a little confused because he didn't know what a Reichsmark was or how they compared to Mobiums, but he just faked it and said, "Uh, charge it to Colonel Wilhelm Klink, Kommandant of Stalag 13!"

"OK then, sir," replied the shopkeeper. "Heil Hitler!"

Sonic, not being an ardent Nazi, faked the salute and said, "You too, schnitzel-breath! See ya!"

Sonic then made a break for Stalag 13, managing not to break any of the components despite his super speed.

As for Tails, he managed to locate the tank factory approximately eight klicks southwest of Stalag 13, marking the location on his map. Given the nature of the factory, it was heavily guarded. Aside from the usual MG 42 towers & 88mm flak guns, it was also guarded by 128mm anti-tank guns, 50mm flak guns and all kinds of mean, nasty things that could turn even the fastest hedgehog into roadkill. The factory itself was also fortified, made of some of the toughest concrete that Germany had to offer. There were no windows, and all doors were hardened and triple-secured, especially the large door where the tanks were to come through. There were plenty of ventilation outlets, but they were too small even for Tails to get through, so the Two-Tailed Wonder was restricted to photographing the exterior of the plant. The photography session was going well, but it was nearly ruined when he was spotted by a soldier in one of the MG 42 towers.

"Achtung, we have an intruder!" exclaimed the soldier, who was the spotter for the tower.

"Nonsense, Erich," said the gunner. "That's just a flying squirrel! Nothing to be worried about!"

Little did they know that this so-called "flying squirrel" had just signed their death warrant…

* * *

While Sonic & Tails were away, the Nazi Party would play. A black staff car with Nazi flags on the fenders pulled up to Klink's office, and out stepped Major Wolfgang Hochstetter. Major Hochstetter was a high-ranking member of the Gestapo. He had black hair & a mustache, and he wore a black overcoat with the infamous red armband plus a black officer's cap with the "Totenkopf" emblem on it.

As Hochstetter stormed into Klink's office, Klink stood at attention and said, "Ah, Major Hochstetter! What brings you here today?"

"KLINK, shut up!" exclaimed Hochstetter. "I have had it with you!"

"But what am I doing wrong?" asked Klink, worried about what Hochstetter had planned for him.

"You are terrible!" replied Hochstetter. "I know about that new tank factory they're constructing near this place and I don't trust you to keep anyone from destroying it!"

"But Major Hochstetter, you know that no prisoner escapes from Stalag 13! You have no reason to worry about me!"

"BAH! I know you are an incompetent nitwit, so I am stationing one of my own men here as your new chief security officer!" Hochstetter then turned towards the door and called out: "SHAADOOOOWWW!"

Major Hochstetter's new chief security officer, Shadow the Hedgehog, walked into Colonel Klink's office. A fierce rival of Sonic, Shadow was nearly identical in appearance to Sonic except for coloration: Shadow was a black hedgehog with red stripes on his head. His chin was colored a pale orange, as opposed to tan like Sonic, and he had a tuft of white fur on his chest, underneath his neck. As per his current job, he wore a black officer's cap and carried a Walther P-38 as his sidearm. Unlike Sonic, Shadow never smiled. He almost always had a scowl on his face.

"Yes, Master?" asked Shadow.

"Colonel Klink, I would like you to meet the new chief security officer, Shadow the Hedgehog," said Hochstetter.

Klink, of course, had just about had enough talking animals here at Stalag 13, so he initially snapped, "Major Hochstetter, I will not have this…" but quickly changed his tone and said, "…er, hello, I am Colonel Wilhelm Klink! It is nice to meet you, Shadow!"

"Shut up, baldy," said Shadow.

Colonel Hogan walked into Klink's office.

"WHAT IS THIS MAN DOING HERE!?" shouted Hochstetter.

"Major, this is Colonel Hogan…" began Klink.

"I KNOW WHO HE IS!" interrupted Hochstetter.

"Did I come at a bad time, gentlemen?" asked Hogan. "I just came here to return Klink's watch. He must've dropped it at roll call today."

"Thank you, Colonel Hogan!" said Klink as Hogan returned the watch to him.

"NOW GET OUT!" yelled Hochstetter.

Hogan was just about to leave when he noticed Shadow.

"Oh hey, I see you got another one of these talking animals!" said Hogan. "What's your name, little guy?"

"I am Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life Form!" proclaimed Shadow.

"Really? Nice to meet you!" said Hogan. "I'm Colonel Robert Hogan, US Army Air Force!"

Hogan attempted to shake hands with Shadow, but Shadow brushed Hogan's hand away and told him: "Buzz off, Hogan."

"My, he's certainly got an attitude, hasn't he?" remarked Hogan. "What else have you got?"

"Let me show you my real power!" said Shadow.

"OK, Shadow, that's all," said Hochstetter, holding Shadow back. "Hogan, get out of here!"

"OK, Major Hochstetter," said Hogan, "Smell you later!" He then left Klink's office.

Naturally, Major Hochstetter was baffled by such an expression and questioned Klink: "'Smell you later'? KLINK, what have you been telling Hogan!?"

"Oh, uh…nothing, Major Hochstetter!" replied Klink. "You know those Americans, always trying to introduce people to their silly ideas!"

"Hmmm…for once, I suppose you're right!" said Hochstetter. "Well, I must be going now, and don't let anything funny happen or Shadow will notify me! Do you understand!?"

Klink gulped, then said, "Yes, Major Hochstetter."

"OK. Goodbye, Klink!" Hochstetter then left while Shadow stood outside Klink's door.

"Oh, I've forgotten to introduce myself," said Hilda to Shadow, "I'm Hilda! What's your name?"

"My name is Shadow the Hedgehog," replied Shadow, "and whatever I do is my own business, so shut up!"

"Oh my, that was quite rude!" said Hilda. "Is something wrong?"

"I said, SHUT UP," replied Shadow. He turned his attention away from Hilda and just looked straight ahead, arms crossed, scowling. Deep down inside, though, he wasn't a bad person. He just had some emotional problems.

…Then again, what member of the Gestapo didn't?


	7. Chapter 7: Preparations

Outside, Hogan was making some small talk with Sergeant Schultz.

"So, Schultz, how 'bout that new chief security officer?" said Hogan.

"Oh, Hogan, please don't mention him," replied Schultz. "These talking animals are going to drive me crazy!"

"Yeah, I think the Colonel feels the same way, too" said Hogan.

"I didn't even know that the Gestapo would hire those things!" said Schultz.

"Yeah, well you know the Gestapo," replied Hogan, "they've always got one trick or another up there sleeve!"

"I think you're quite right about that, Hogan!" said Schultz.

"By the way, you hear about that new tank factory?" asked Hogan. "It'd be a shame if the Allies blew that up, wouldn't it?"

"I know nothing! NOTHING!" replied Schultz.

"Ah, Schultz, you're quite a character!" remarked Hogan. "Well, see you around!"

"See you later, Hogan!" said Schultz.

* * *

Back at the barracks, Tails, Rotor & Kinch were working on assembling the teleporter. Without anything more advanced than vacuum tubes or simple electrical wires, however, it was an arduous job. They even had to dig more space underground to fit the whole contraption. Sonic was also impatient about the whole thing.

"IIIIIII'mmmmmm waaaaaaaaiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiinn nnng!" exclaimed Sonic.

"Sonic, they're going as fast as they possibly can!" scolded Sally. "If you think you can do any better, then show me!"

"Fine, maybe I will!" retorted Sonic.

Suddenly, LeBeau rang the dinner bell.

"Dinner is served!" said LeBeau. Everyone gathered around the table.

"So, what's on the menu for today, LeBeau?" asked Hogan?

"It's a real masterpiece!" replied LeBeau, "Chateaubriand, stuffed escargot and croissants, with authentic French Roast coffee, et pour le dessert…apple strudel!"

"Sounds good!" replied Hogan.

Everyone started eating. They all seemed to enjoy it, too, especially the Freedom Fighters, who'd never partaken in such dishes:

"Whoo-ee, these are some delicious vittles!" exclaimed Bunnie.

"This is delicious!" proclaimed Tails.

"Oui, c'est magnifique!" agreed Antoine. "I 'ave not been 'aving authentique French cuisine dans un million d'années!"

"I agree with those guys," said Rotor, "this is good stuff, man!"

"This is wonderful, LeBeau!" marveled Sally. "How do you make this?"

"Ah, mademoiselle, but these are recipes très secrètes!" replied LeBeau, "Some of them were even passed down through my family beaucoup de generations ago!"

"It's OK, I won't tell!" said Sally.

Sonic, however, was not so enthusiastic about LeBeau's cooking.

"It's pretty good," said Sonic, "but where are the chili dogs?"

"Pardon?" replied LeBeau. "What is this 'chili dog' you speak of?"

Sonic then proceeded to tell LeBeau about what a chili dog was and told him the recipe for one.

"Quelle horreur!" cried LeBeau, who was clearly outraged by an otherwise innocuous dish. "I have never heard of such a culinary abomination in my life! Vous devriez ashamed of yourself, you connard! Allez a enfer, vous bouffon!" For the next few moments, LeBeau kept hurling various swear words in French at Sonic, who just sat there, confused as to why somebody could get so upset by chili dogs.

"Ugh…" said Sally. "Sonic, sometimes you should just keep your mouth shut!"

"It's OK, just ignore him!" said Newkirk, "It's clear that 'ee's playin' the garden!"

"Actually, a chili dog doesn't sound half bad!" exclaimed Carter.

"Carter, you'd think a moldy sock wasn't 'alf bad!" retorted Newkirk.

"Actually, I think Carter's right," said Kinch. "Now that I think about it, I believe I ate somethin' similar back in Michigan, but I don't know where I ate it at." After a few seconds of thinking, though, Kinch said: "I remember now! It was Todoroff's Original Coney Island, over in Jackson!"

"Oh, come off it, mate!" exclaimed Newkirk. "You're not seriously goin' to agree with Carter, are you!?"

"All right, settle down! Settle down!" said Hogan. "I understand we have different opinions, but let's not turn this into a food fight, fellas! After all, we've got better things to worry about!"

With that, everyone stopped bickering and continued eating. There were no further incidents, though there was a slight feeling of awkwardness that permeated the air.

After dinner, Carter said, "Hey everybody, I've got a surprise!"

"Uh-oh…" said Newkirk.

Contrary to Newkirk's expectations, Carter brought out a nice surprise: a bowl of mint candies. Everyone grabbed one.

"WOW!" shouted Tails, who grabbed a fistful of them. "Thanks, Mr. Carter!"

"Hey, don't get greedy, now!" said Carter.

"Don't mind Tails," said Sonic. "He just goes nuts over these!"

"Oh, like you don't go gaga for food?" retorted Sally.

"Come on, Sal!" said Sonic, "Let's not go there again!"

After this, everyone returned to whatever they were doing before dinner and continued up until bedtime.

* * *

The next morning, Sonic was in for quite a shock when he saw Shadow supervising roll call.

"SHADOW!" exclaimed Sonic.

"SONIC!" exclaimed Shadow.

"Wait…you two actually know each other!?" said Schultz, who stopped counting prisoners when the two took notice of each other. "HERR KOMMANDANT!"

Klink heard Schultz's yelling and came outside.

"Schultz, what do you want now!?" asked Klink.

"It's about the chief security officer," replied Schultz, who had walked over to Klink. "He appears to know one of the prisoners."

"Well, which one?" queried Klink.

"The blue one," said Schultz. "I believe it's the one they call Sonic."

"SO-NIIIIIIC!" called Klink. "Get over here!"

Naturally, Sonic was over there almost instantly.

"Sonic, Shadow," began Klink, "Do you two really know each other!?"

Sonic & Shadow both said "yes".

"Listen," said Colonel Klink. "I don't care how long you've known each other for, but personal vendettas will not be tolerated here at Stalag 13! Is that clear!?"

Sonic & Shadow both said "yes, sir" with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

"Good", said Klink. Sonic went back to his spot in the roll, while Shadow gave him a cold stare briefly.

"Well, don't just sit there, Schultz!" shouted Klink, "Carry on!"

"Jawohl, Herr Kommandant!" said Schultz, who continued with roll call.

* * *

Back at Robotnik's ranch, Robotnik was still up in arms over the disappearance of the Freedom Fighters, in addition to the random power fluctuations going on at his fortress.

"Snively, what's the situation with those recon teams?" asked Robotnik.

"Sir, you just asked that question half a minute ago," replied Snively, "and the answer's still the same: They still haven't found the Freedom Fighters."

"WELL, I'LL ASK AS MANY TIMES AS I WANT!" shouted Robotnik "I'm Dr. Ivo Robotnik, and I'll keep asking until I have them! Now, let's see what Scratch & Grounder are up to…"

Robotnik placed a call to his two robotic foot soldiers. Grounder picked up and said, "Hello?"

"Scratch, Grounder, have you located the Freedom Fighters yet?" asked Robotnik.

"No, Your Egginess, but [kssshhhht] we'll keep looking!" replied Scratch.

"THEN DO IT!" yelled Robotnik. "Check every inch of that factory until you are sure! While you're at it, check the rest of Eggopolis until you find them! Whatever you do, DO NOT come back here until you find them! Is that clear!?"

"Yes sir!" said Scratch & Grounder, who hung up.

"On second thought, Snively," said Dr. Robotnik, "it does not matter where they are. My workers tell me that the factory is almost complete, and by the time the Freedom Fighters get there, they'll be powerless to stop it! Hahahahahaha! Now, about those random power disruptions…"

* * *

At Stalag 13, things were pretty normal in Hogan's barracks. Tails, Rotor & Kinch were still working on the teleporter, while Carter was building some bombs to take care of the factory. Newkirk was doing maintenance on some firearms. Hogan was going over the pictures that Tails had taken. LeBeau & Antoine were conversing in French. Of course, everyone was taking care not to get caught.

Then, Shadow opened the door.

"Sonic, get over here!" said Shadow.

"Sure, whatever you say!" replied Sonic, who went outside with Shadow.

The two walked outside as Sonic closed the door. They rounded a corner and stopped behind another barracks.

"OK Shadow, what do ya want with me?" asked Sonic.

"Let's get this straight from Jump Street," said Shadow, "I don't know how you got here, or why you're even here. I don't even care about either of those, but let me tell you this: If you or any of your stupid friends try anything funny while I'm here, I will punish you severely! Is that understood, Hedgehog?"

"Yes, Shadow, I get what you're saying," said Sonic, "but do ya even know what you're doing? How can ya go working for the slime of humanity?"

"You don't understand me, Sonic! For the first time in my life, I have found a group of people who accept me for what I am! They even said they were part of a Master Race, and together, we will do many great things!"

"Shadow, listen to me! These people aren't who they seem to be! Look, I know you're not evil, man! Ask yourself: Is this really the right thing to do? Is this what Maria would've wanted?"

Shadow grabbed Sonic by the collar and pulled him closer. "Don't you ever, EVER speak her name to me again!" said Shadow.

"Whoa, chill out!" said Sonic. "I'm sorry, man!"

"I'll bet you are!" retorted Shadow.

"Uh…can ya let go of me, Shadow?" asked Sonic, who was slightly scared by Shadow's disposition.

"Oh, and one more thing," said Shadow, who pressed the muzzle of his P-38 against Sonic's left cheek, "If I hear about anything else going wrong around the area of this camp, I'm gonna blow your damn head off! Is that clear, you horrid little faker?"

"OK, OK!" said Sonic. "No need to use that thing, man!"

Shadow let go of Sonic and said, "Go back to your barracks! I'll be watching you!"

"Whatever ya say, Shadow!" replied Sonic, who zoomed back to his barracks.

When Sonic was out of sight, Shadow turned away and started talking to himself quietly. His disposition changed from angry to somewhat depressed. "Hmmm…maybe Sonic's right," he said. "What am I even doing? I made a promise to Maria! I swore to her that I would defend humanity! Can I even trust the people I'm working for?" However, Shadow quickly shook away such thoughts and took on a more defensive tone: "Forget it, I've got a job to do, and I'm gonna do it!"

* * *

When Sonic got back into the barracks, Knuckles said to him: "Well, what happened?"

"Ah, nothin' much," replied Sonic, "Shadow just talked about how he was the Ultimate Life Form and how he's gonna whoop our butts and stuff!"

"Yep, that's Shadow, all right!" said Knuckles, in a slightly joking tone of voice.

"How long have you known that other hedgehog?" asked Hogan.

"Oh, we go a long way back!" replied Sonic. "Even ask Tails & Knuckles! They know it too!"

"Sonic's right," said Tails. "We've known Shadow for a while!"

"Yeah," said Knuckles! "He's been trouble for us ever since!"

"But how did Shadow get here?" wondered Sally.

"And why's 'ee workin' for the bloody Gestapo?" added Newkirk.

"I don't know," replied Sonic, "but we're gonna have to be real careful now that he's around!"

"Pas de problème!" said LeBeau, "If there is one thing I know about the Germans, it is that they are unable to resist a good apple strudel!"

"Hey LeBeau," said Knuckles, "Shadow ain't German! Well, not that I know of."

"Do not worry, mes amis!" exclaimed Antoine, "for I shall teaching a leçon to this Shadow!"

"Right, this should be interesting!" said Newkirk sarcastically.

* * *

Antoine bravely made his way over to Klink's office, where Shadow was still standing outside of Klink's door, arms crossed.

"Monsieur Shadow, I am Antoine Depardieu of the Mobius Royal Guard!" said Antoine. "By ordering of the king & queens of Mobius, I must ask you to surrendering!"

"You're in no position to ask me to surrender," replied Shadow. "Get lost!"

"Do you take me for a fuel!?" said Antoine. "Surrender now and I may allow you to living!"

"I said, get lost and stop this insolence!" replied Shadow.

"No! You are getting lost!" exclaimed Antoine. "If you will don't give up, then prepare to meet your baker!"

Shadow literally threw Antoine out of Klink's office and onto the ground. "…and don't EVER bother me again!" yelled Shadow, who went back to his post. Schultz observed the whole thing & thought, "I'd sure hate to be him!"

As a result of the fall, Antoine was somewhat dazed. He got up and asked Schultz, "Excuse me, Monsieur, but could you please defect me to the nearest bus slop?"

Schultz gave Antoine a strange look, after which Antoine came to and walked back to the barracks.

"Guys, I am thinking that this Shadow is soapless!" said Antoine.

"It's 'hopeless', Antoine," said Sonic.

"Do not worry, mon ami!" replied LeBeau. "We just need to approach him in the right way! I am sure that 'ee cannot resist a good apple strudel!"

"Great idea, LeBeau!" said Hogan.

LeBeau brought out a tray of apple strudel that he had just baked and carried it over to Klink's office, where he offered a couple to Schultz. After Schultz had some, LeBeau went inside and said, "Bonjour, Monsieur Shadow, I apologize for my friend's behavior earlier…"

"What do you want, Frenchie!?" demanded Shadow.

"Ah, I 'ave come to make a peace offering!" replied LeBeau. "Have some apple strudel!"

"Pastries!?" exclaimed Shadow. "Those are against regulations! I'm confiscating these!"

Shadow snatched the entire tray from LeBeau and put it down on Hilda's desk. He then said to LeBeau: "If I catch you breaking any more regulations, then I'm gonna break your neck, you little cockroach! Is that clear!?"

"Oui, Monsieur." replied LeBeau, calmly. He turned around and walked back to his barracks. "Quelle brute!" he muttered to himself.

Shadow continued standing guard. At first, he just looked straight ahead, arms folded, but after a few moments, he quickly glanced over at the apple strudel. Eventually, after so many glances at the strudel, he gave in and took one for himself. He took a bite, and after chewing it for a few seconds, he raised his eyebrows slightly, enjoying the taste. As he was eating, he glanced over at Hilda, who was looking at him and smiling. Shadow just gave her a cold glare and looked away from her as he ate his strudel.


	8. Chapter 8: Magic Time

General Burkhalter made a return visit to the camp to meet with Klink again. Upon seeing Shadow, he said, "Ah, are you one of Major Hochstetter's agents?"

"Yes I am," replied Shadow. "Who are you?"

"I am General Albert Burkhalter, chief administrator of the Luft Stalags" said Burkhalter. "I wish to speak with Colonel Wilhelm Klink."

"No one goes in to see him without an appointment!" said Shadow.

"I do not care if you are with the Gestapo," warned Burkhalter, "but if you do not stand aside, then I will take disciplinary action against you!"

"Yes, Master" said Shadow, who stepped aside for the General. "Heil Hitler!" Shadow thought, "That felt wrong."

This time, when Burkhalter stepped into Klink's office, the Kommandant was more than happy to see him:

"Ah, General Burkhalter! It is so good to see you again!" exclaimed Klink.

"Too bad I do not think the same way," said Burkhalter.

"Well, what brings you here today?" asked Klink.

"Remember that new project I had told you about?" replied Burkhalter. "It is now finished. I cannot stress enough the importance of keeping this camp secure."

"Of course!" said Klink. "You know that we have never had a successful escape from Stalag 13! You can count on me!"

"I wish I could," retorted Burkhalter, who exited Klink's office and left the camp.

* * *

As night was falling on Stalag 13, the Heroes were preparing for their roles. The teleporter device was nearing completion, Carter had all his little "toys" prepared and everyone was ready to rock 'n roll. The only wrench in the proverbial works was Shadow, so everyone had to do their jobs as quickly as possible to avoid getting caught.

"All right, let's go over this one more time," said Hogan, "Sonic, Tails, Newkirk, Carter, Bunnie & I will take care of the factory. Kinch, Sally, LeBeau, Knuckles, Antoine & Rotor; you guys stay behind, get the teleporter ready and let us know if anything's going on back here. Any questions?"

Antoine asked, "Uh…yes, Monsieur Hogan…if we are not dying, can I p-please have some ice beam?"

"It's 'ice cream', Antoine," said Rotor.

"Hey, if we can get any, you can have all the ice cream you want, my young friend!" replied Hogan.

"'ow can you be thinking of ice cream at a time like this!?" asked Newkirk.

"This is a free country!" replied Antoine. "I can be thinking of anything I am wanting!"

"All right, no more arguments!" said Hogan. "If no one else has any questions, then let's go!"

So, Hogan, Sonic, Tails, Newkirk, Carter & Bunnie went through the escape tunnels and out into the wilderness, where they would soon execute their plan…

* * *

In Mobius, Dr. Robotnik was flipping out because of the Freedom Fighters' absence.

"…but we've [ksssshht] searched the factory a [kssssssssshhhht] million times already!" said Grounder, who was talking on the phone to the Doctor.

"WELL, SEARCH IT A MILLION MORE TIMES!" yelled Robotnik. "And don't come back until you find them!"

"Yes, Your Evilness!" said Grounder, who hung up the phone.

Robotnik turned to Snively and asked, "Snively, have your recon teams found those insolent Freedom Fighters yet!?"

"No, sir," replied Snively. "Sir, if I may, I suggest that we call off the search. I highly doubt that they are anywhere near the factory!"

"That's because you morons aren't looking HARD ENOUGH!" said Robotnik. "Snively, prepare my Eggmobile! I'm going to look for them myself!"

"Yes, sir!" said Snively. As Snively went to get the Eggmobile ready, he grumbled to himself: "Hmph! I'm doing the best I can and he's still not satisfied! One day, I'll teach him a lesson about being grateful!"

* * *

Being that the factory was heavily guarded, Sonic & Hogan's gang needed another way in. To this end, they went to a section of wall near the back of the building. However, the wall itself was electrified, so there was no way that they could climb it. Instead, Bunnie gave them a boost over the wall and Tails lifted Bunnie over once the other Heroes were over.

Inside, they looked for a door to the place. Once they found one, Carter set a charge on one of the door locks. Once everyone got back, Carter detonated the charge.

BOOOMM!

The charge blew the door open!

AHWOOOOOOOOOGA! AHWOOOOOOOOOGA! AHWOOOOOOOOOGA!

Naturally, the sound of the explosion alerted the guards. While the guards were shouting various things in German & searching for the intruders, the Heroes slipped into the factory. Unfortunately, they found their way blocked by a larger door, not quite as large as the outer tank bay door, but still quite large.

"Carter, get some more charges on that door!" ordered Hogan.

"I can't!" replied Carter. "I only brought enough to blow up the factory!"

"Oh no…" said Newkirk, who facepalmed.

"Don't worry, guys! I'll take care of this!" exclaimed Sonic, who attempted a spin attack, but ended up banging his head against the door and only made a small dent in it.

"Sonic, are you okay!?" asked Tails.

Sonic was a bit dazed at first, but shook it off and said, "I'm fine, little buddy! That's gonna sting for a while, though!"

"Let me try, Sugar-hog!" said Bunnie, who attempted to punch through the door with her roboticized arm. She did a little better than Sonic, but the door was very strong, so it would still take quite a while to break through.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at Stalag 13, things were going pretty well. So far, none of the guards had taken notice of anything wrong at the camp. The teleporter was all finished up. Now, Sally had to wait for Sonic & the two other Freedom Fighters to get back.

However, the situation was just about to change. Shadow looked at his watch, and for reasons known only to him, decided to go over to the Heroes' barracks. Unbeknownst to him, a mysterious intruder had breached the gates at Stalag 13.

As for Colonel Klink, he was getting tired and was going to get ready for bed when the four intruders came into his office.

"DO NOT MOVE," said one of them in a rough, mechanical voice. Colonel Klink turned and was astonished by what he saw: The intruders in question were Cylon Centurions, better known as "Cylons" to most people, or "toasters" to certain Colonial warriors. These particular Cylons were robots standing about 6'6", wearing bulky silver armor over their flexible rubber coverings. Most noticeable about them was the sweeping red "eye" on their visors. They carried laser rifles with bayonets.

"What are you things!?" demanded Klink. "What are you doing here!?"

"WE ARE MEMBERS OF THE CYLON EMPIRE," replied one of the Cylons. "YOU ARE NOW OUR PRISONER."

"Don't play any games with me!" said Klink, who had cast off his astonishment and adopted a more authoritative attitude. "I am the Kommandant of this Stalag and I will have none of these silly games!"

"THIS IS NO GAME," retorted the Centurion. "SINCE YOU ARE IN CHARGE, TELL US WHERE THE OTHERS MAY BE FOUND."

"B-Barracks Two!" replied Klink.

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION," said the Cylon, who grabbed Klink and handed him to another Centurion. "TAKE HIM TO THE SHIP."

"BY YOUR COMMAND," said the other Cylon, who escorted Klink out of his office.

* * *

At the factory, Bunnie was still having trouble punching through the door. "Gol durn it, what's this thing made out of!?" said Bunnie. "It's like tryin' to dig to China!"

"Need a little help, boys?" said a voice from behind the Heroes.

Everyone turned around to see who it was. It was Rouge the Bat! A federal agent/treasure hunter, Rouge was a white-furred vampire bat who wore a skintight black bodysuit with a pink heart-shaped breastplate, white gauntlets and white steel-soled boots with pink, heart-shaped steel tips on them. She also sported powder blue eyeliner.

"Rouge, what are you doing here?" asked Sonic.

"Why Sonic, you didn't tell me you were bringing any more friends to the party!" exclaimed Hogan.

"Well, she's not exactly a friend…" replied Sonic.

"Oh, don't be so modest, Big Blue!" said Rouge. "Now, all of you, stand back and let me do my thing!" She turned to Bunnie and said, "Not you! I could use a little help!"

Rouge kicked away at the door while Bunnie kept punching away. With the two going at it, they were able to bust through the door much quicker.

"And now, let's see what priceless gems I can get my sweet little hands on today!" said Rouge.

"Gems?" questioned Hogan. "Lady, I don't know what brought you here, but this is a tank factory! I doubt you'll find that many gems here.

"WHAT!?" exclaimed Rouge. "Sonic, you tricked me!"

"I didn't trick you!" said Sonic. "You chose to come here all by yourself!"

"Ugh…I'm not going to waste my time here!" said Rouge. "I've got better things to do! See you later, Sonic!"

Rouge flew away just as some guards were coming through the same entrance that the Heroes had taken.

"What was that all about?" wondered Newkirk.

"Never mind that!" said Hogan. "Let's just get this job done!"

"All right! Juice time!" exclaimed Sonic, who sped through the opening in the wall.

For the next part of the plan, Sonic & Tails would zoom around the factory, distracting the guards while Carter & Hogan planted bombs. Newkirk laid down suppressing fire with an MP-40 while Bunnie engaged guards in hand-to-hand combat. Hogan also took some potshots with his Colt .45. Inside the factory, it appeared that the workers had already started production, for a few tanks were already finished. Given all the assembly lines, machinery & tank components, there was plenty of cover, yet plenty of space for Sonic to zoom around.

Despite his super speed, Sonic still took a little time every now and then to stop and taunt the German soldiers.

"Up high, down low, too slow!" exclaimed Sonic, speeding away to avoid gunfire. A few moments later, Sonic stopped and did his trademark finger wag.

"No no no! You're gonna need more than that to stop me!" boasted the Blue Blur, who continued speeding around the factory and dodging gunfire. Eventually, he paused again.

"Aw, did ya miss me!?" he taunted. Unfortunately, when Sonic tried to speed away this time, he tumbled over and fell as if he were hit by something.

"SONIC!" exclaimed Tails, who believed that his best friend had been shot.

Actually, Sonic recovered from his fall and continued running. As he did, he bared his teeth to reveal that he'd caught a 7.92mm bullet with them. "Hmmm…I guess not!" joked Sonic in response to his earlier taunt.

* * *

While Sonic, Hogan & the others were raising hell over at the factory, everyone else pretended to sleep because LeBeau believed that he had heard something. He was right. Shadow opened the door to the barracks and turned on the lights.

"OK, everybody up!" demanded Shadow.

"Quoi? What is this about?" asked LeBeau.

"Random bed check," replied Shadow.

"Non, I will not 'ave this!" said Antoine, who tried to stop Shadow. "The check's in the mail, not my bed!"

"Step aside, twerp!" said Shadow, who threw Antoine aside and proceeded to check random beds, starting with Sonic's. However, he only found a paper-mache head painted like Sonic plus some extra blankets stuffed under the regular blanket. Then, for some reason, he went over to Sally and started grilling her for info:

"Where is he!?" said Shadow.

"Who?" replied Sally, who was somewhat frightened.

"Don't play stupid with me!" warned Shadow "Where is that guy!?"

"I-I don't know who you're talking about!" insisted Sally.

Shadow backhanded her and said: "Sonic! Tell me where Sonic is!"

"I'll never tell you!" exclaimed Sally. Shadow hit her harder this time.

"HEY! You lay a finger on her again and I'll clobber ya!" said Knuckles.

In response, Shadow pointed his P-38 at Knuckles and told him: "Don't try anything funny, pal!"

During the whole altercation, Kinch snuck over to his radio in the underground tunnels and started broadcasting to Hogan:

"Goldilocks to Papa Bear, come in Papa Bear, over!"

Hogan, still at the factory, responded: "Papa Bear to Goldilocks, what's your status over there!? Over!" Given the state of radio technology here, Hogan was carrying around a large, brick-shaped handie-talkie for communication.

"Papa Bear, you'd better hurry with that factory!" said Kinch. "We've got a nosy neighbor on our hands, over!"

"Roger that, we'll go as fast as we can!" replied Hogan. "Papa Bear out!"

"Roger, Goldilocks out!" said Kinch. After he was done, he armed the teleporter device for Sonic's return.

Meanwhile, the Freedom Fighters had another thing to worry about besides being punished for their friends' transgressions:

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE." The three Cylons from Klink's office entered the barracks and readied their laser rifles. Pretty much everyone put their hands up except Shadow. LeBeau, not having seen a Cylon Centurion before, seemed a bit more frightened than the others.

"Uh-oh, these must be some new SWATbots that Robotnik's made!" said Rotor. "How the heck did he send them all the way over here?"

"WHO IS THIS 'ROBOTNIK' THAT YOU SPEAK OF?" asked one of the Cylons.

"Rotor, whatever these things are, they're not with Robotnik!" said Sally.

"THAT DOES NOT MATTER," said the same Centurion. "SURRENDER NOW AND COME WITH US."

"Surrender!? No way!" exclaimed Shadow, "CHAOS CONTROL!"

Unfortunately for Shadow, nothing happened.

"Uh-oh, where is my Chaos Emerald!?" said Shadow. After a brief, fruitless, search, he aimed his P-38 at one of the Centurions and said, "Ah well, I still have this!"

"RELINQUISH YOUR WEAPON," ordered another one of the Cylons.

"Take this!" said Shadow, who fired a couple of bullets at a Centurion. Unfortunately, the bullets bounced off and did little – if any – damage.

"ATTACK," ordered the first Cylon. Shadow zipped around what little space there was in the barracks and dodged their laser fire. Everyone else hit the deck to avoid getting hit.

Suddenly, one of the Cylons' torsos was shattered! Rouge had showed up and put her foot right through a Centurion! The other two turned their attention to her.

"STOP" said one of them. While the Cylons were distracted, Shadow smashed another one with a spin attack and Knuckles ripped the third one in half with his bare hands.

* * *

Over at the factory, Sonic & Hogan's team was done planting the charges.

"SONIC!" yelled Hogan. "We got the charges set! Let's get outta here before this place blows!"

"No problemo, Hogan!" replied Sonic. "All right, Tails, let's speed, Keed!"

Sonic & Tails covered Hogan & the rest of the gang as they made their way out of there. Hogan & the others ran for a truck while Newkirk was still firing away with his MP-40. They commandeered a GMC CCKW that had been painted "Feldgrau" and started the truck up while Sonic & Tails kept up the distraction amidst all the gunfire & explosions.

Speaking of which, Sonic smashed some of the 88mm flak guns & toppled some of the MG 42 towers with spin attacks. Luckily for the gun crews, they managed to escape relatively unhurt. So did Sonic & Tails, as well as the rest of the Heroes.

BOOOOOOMMMMM!

The factory blew up nicely when the Heroes exited the grounds.

Once they were a certain distance away, Sonic & Tails zoomed off as quickly as they could for the nearest escape tunnel.

As for Hogan & the others, they ditched the truck and walked to the nearest escape tunnel.

* * *

With the Cylons defeated, Rouge said, "And there were more of those tin cans where they came from, too!"

Shadow asked Rouge, "How did you get here?"

"Who cares!?" said Knuckles, "It's good to see ya, Rouge!"

"Oh Knuckles, baby, you know I'd do anything for you!" replied Rouge in a seductive tone of voice. "There's really only one thing I want in return!"

"W-what's that?" asked Knuckles.

"Oh, darling, don't be so silly!" replied Rouge. "You know perfectly well what I want: gems!"

"Lady, there are no gems here!" said Shadow. "At least…not that I can see. You aren't hiding any jewels here, are you?"

"No," said Rotor.

"N-n-n-non!" said Antoine, who was still cowering in fear from the Cylon attack.

"No, I left them all at home!" said Sally.

"C'est vrai!" said LeBeau. "This is a prison camp, not a diamond mine!"

"UGH…another waste of time!" lamented Rouge. "Sometimes, I don't know why I bother with you, Knuckles! Goodbye!"

Rouge flew away, but a second or two later, she came back and told Shadow, "Oh, and Shadow…"

"Yes, Rouge?" replied Shadow.

"Take off that hat!" said Rouge. "You look silly wearing it, honey!" She then flew away.

Shadow didn't respond to Rouge.

"C-c-can I get up now?" asked Antoine.

"Yes, it's all right now," said Rotor. Antoine got up slowly.

Meanwhile, a familiar face emerged from the secret escape tunnels: It was Sonic! The rest of the Heroes emerged as well!

"Hey guys, did I miss anything?" said Sonic, who saw the dead Cylons a few seconds later. "Whoa, I didn't know that Robotnik was gonna send SWATbots all the way out here!"

"Sonic, I don't think those were SWATbots," said Sally.

"Well, it's good to be back after another mission…" said Hogan, who trailed off when he saw the laser burn marks & dead Cylon Centurions. "Wow, it looks like somebody blew up a hardware store!" he said upon seeing the Cylon corpses.

"Yeah, we got 'em good," exclaimed Knuckles, "didn't we, Shadow!?"

"I suppose we did," replied Shadow.

"You guys blew up the factory, did you not?" asked LeBeau.

"Yep," replied Hogan, "No more war-winning tanks for the Germans!"

Everyone started cheering, except maybe Shadow. Contrary to expectations, he didn't raise his weapon or shoot anyone. In fact, he'd had about enough of this.

"Teleporter's ready for you furballs!" said Kinch in a somewhat joking tone.

"All right!" said Sonic. "Gotta juice!"

"Wait!" exclaimed Hogan. "Don't you folks want to say good bye before you go?"

"Oh yeah, can't forget about that!" replied Sonic. "It's been way past cool workin' with ya, Hogan, but I gotta go! See ya!"

"Thanks for the help, Sonic!" said Hogan. "Without you, the war could've dragged on for a long time!"

"Sonic's right," said Tails, "You guys are très cool!"

"The feeling is mutual, man!" said Kinch.

"I loved working with you, Hogan!" said Sally. "Maybe we'll meet again someday!"

"Maybe we will!" replied Hogan.

All the Heroes exchanged good-byes with each other. Just as Sonic's gang was about to go, though, Carter lamentedd, "Aw, why do they have to leave!? Now I'll never have a talking animal for a pet!"

"Carter, enough with the bloody pet thing!" scolded Newkirk. Pretty much everyone laughed at this except Shadow.

After this, Sonic & friends went underground to the teleporter, but not before Sonic handed Hogan a note. Also, Sally returned to talk with Shadow.

"By the way, Shadow…" said Sally.

"Yes?" said Shadow.

Sally gave Shadow a nice, hard slap in return for hitting her. Shadow didn't fight back. He just gave a little "hmph" as Sally left.

Down in the teleporter room, the Knothole Freedom Fighters were standing on the teleporter pad, ready to go home after one of their weirdest adventures yet.

"OK, coordinates set!" said Kinch.

"Beam us up, Kinch!" exclaimed Sonic. Kinch threw the switch and the Freedom Fighters were sent back home.

Meanwhile, as Sonic had requested, Hogan went up to Shadow and handed him the note. "Here, Shadow, give this to Colonel Klink when you see him," said Hogan.

"What is it?" asked Shadow.

"You'll find out," replied Hogan.


	9. Chapter 9: Just As It Should Be

Dr. Robotnik had finished his own personal investigation of his new mech factory. The journey nearly came to an end for him because the mysterious electrical interference that had been plaguing Mobius nearly caused his Eggmobile to crash. Fortunately, they were letting up by now. Unfortunately for Robotnik, he failed to locate the Freedom Fighters.

"Dr. Robotnik to all recon squads," said Robotnik over the Eggmobile's two-way radio, "Intensify your search efforts! Those pesky little Freedom Fighters must be around somewhere! There is no way that they could have just disappeared!"

The Doctor was indeed correct. Sonic & friends hadn't disappeared. In fact, they reappeared at Eggopolis, next to the local Burger King, because it makes sense for a friggin' Burger King to be in a Sonic location.

"Ah, it's good to be back!" exclaimed Sonic.

"We're not out of the water yet, though," said Rotor.

"NICOLE, show us the route to Robotnik's mech factory!" said Sally.

"Plotting coordinates…" said NICOLE. After a few moments: "Factory located."

"Let's go!" said Sally. The Freedom Fighters made their way to the mech factory, which made the E-75 tank factory look like a garden shed. This time, though, there wouldn't be any fireworks going in, because unlike the tank factory, Robotnik's mech factory had a more glaring weakness: One of the drain pipes was large enough for Sonic & all his friends to go through, so they went on in.

Like the tank factory, the mech factory was completed and was beginning production. The Freedom Fighters had gotten here just in time, too. A few of the mechs had been completed, but none were rolled out yet. Since the factory guards had not yet been alerted to the Freedom Fighters' presence, that meant the crew didn't have to worry so much about being careful under fire. In fact, even while they were planting bombs, they had a little time for something else…

"NICOLE, scan for and download any mech blueprints!" said Sally, who hooked NICOLE up to a computer mainframe.

"Scanning…" said NICOLE. A few moments later: "Blueprints downloaded."

Of course, nothing comes easy in Sonic's world. During the job, Sonic was spotted by a floating camera bot. Robotnik witnessed the whole thing back at his lair.

"BLAST!" exclaimed Robotnik. "All attack units, maximum alert! The Hedgehog is at the factory! Seize him and the rest of the Freedom Fighters!"

Within moments, SWATbots & other assorted nasties descended on the place, but it didn't matter too much because the Freedom Fighters had planted most of their explosives by now. However, they did make escape hairier for the Freedom Fighters. On the way out, Sonic, Knuckles & Bunnie reduced plenty of Robotnik's goons to scrap metal.

KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!

The mech factory blew up quite nicely. With some hops, skips, jumps, dodges and dips, the Freedom Fighters dodged Robotnik's troops and made it back home.

Meanwhile, Robotnik himself watched helplessly as his factory was destroyed.

"NOOOO! Another one of my grand plans has been ruined!" yelled Robotnik. "I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG!"

* * *

Meanwhile, at Stalag 13, things were going back to normal. Colonel Hogan decided to pay a little visit to Colonel Klink, who had been rescued from the Cylons. Likewise, Sergeant Schultz and Hilda had been freed from their grasp.

First, Hogan decided to chat with Hilda a bit:

"Well, it's good to see your face again, Hilda!" said Hogan.

"It's always a pleasure to see you, Hogan!" replied Hilda.

"Yeah, after what went on here these past few days, a pretty face like yours is a welcome sight!" said Hogan.

"I must say, I did enjoy the company of those little talking animals!" said Hilda. "However, there is one thing on my mind…"

"What is it, Hilda?"

"It's that black hedgehog, Shadow. I don't know what it is, but…I sensed that there was something wrong with him!"

"Well, you know the Gestapo, they've always been quite loony!"

"But Hogan, Shadow was different! He seemed so lost. I think there was something that was bothering him. Oh, I feel so sorry for him!"

"It's OK, I'm sure he'll find his way sooner or later!"

After giving Hilda a hug, Hogan walked into Klink's office, where he found the Kommandant in a state of weariness.

"Hey, Klink, how 'bout these past few days?" said Hogan.

"Oh, Hogan, don't even mention it!" replied Klink. "I have had just about enough craziness at this Stalag for now! The only good thing about it is this release form that Shadow gave to me! And good riddance, too! If I ever see another talking animal here, I'm going to pack up and head for the Russian Front!"

"Hey, look on the bright side, Klink," said Hogan, "At least when the war's over, you can get a job at a farm or a zoo!"

"HO-GAAAAAAAANNNN! Dis-missed!" exclaimed Klink. Hogan left Klink's office and returned to his barracks.

* * *

At the local Gestapo office in Hammelburg, Major Hochstetter was in his office attending to business when Shadow opened the door to his office. Hochstetter stood up.

"Shadow, why are you away from your post!?" demanded Hochstetter. "And why am I hearing about our newest tank factory being blown up!? YOU'RE FIRED!"

"You can't fire me," retorted Shadow, who slammed his Gestapo cap on Hochstetter's desk, "…because I quit!"

"Quit!? YOU CAN'T QUIT!" shouted Hochstetter.

"Well, I am!" snapped Shadow. "See, in the past few days, I came to a realization: You guys are not part of a Master Race! If you were, you could have the whole world in your hands right now! You could've saved the only one I ever cared about! See, I made a promise to her – a promise to defend humanity against any threat – and that includes slime like you, Major Hochstetter!"

"Why are you giving me this nonsense!?"

"Because I'm Shadow the Hedgehog…and THIS is who I am!" With that, Shadow left Hochstetter's office and slammed the door shut on his way out. He also took his P-38 with him as a souvenir. Now, Shadow skated around the world, looking for the next big danger to combat.

* * *

Having returned to Knothole, the Freedom Fighters celebrated their two victories. Given the unusual circumstances they'd been through, they were especially elated to be home. Sonic decided to celebrate by turning on the radio and jammin' to some awesome music. When he turned on the radio, the station had just started playing "Slow Ride" by Foghat. It was only a few seconds into the song, however, when they were interrupted by a news broadcast:

"We interrupt this program to bring you an important news bulletin," said the announcer, a man in his 40's. "The magnetic storms that have been affecting Mobius have now passed. Scientists are still uncertain of its origin, but the storms had been known to disrupt electrical equipment of all kinds. No further information to report. We now return to our regular broadcast."

After the interruption, Sonic said, "Man, I'm glad that we got back and thrashed Robuttnik again!"

"Me too!" agreed Tails. "That was an awesome adventure we had!"

"Maybe it was awesome for you," said Antoine, "but I 'ave 'ad enough of these crazinesses for one lifetime!"

"Can't say I blame ya," responded Knuckles.

"Hey, why all the fuss?" asked Rotor, "It was nice to get a change of scenery for once!"

"I'll say!" exclaimed Bunnie. "Plus, I don't have to worry about those darn electric shocks no more!"

"Well, I'm glad we had fun!" said Sally. "Oh, and Sonic…"

"Yes, Sally?" asked Sonic.

"…Thank you" replied Sally, who went to kiss Sonic. However, they were interrupted when Amy ran into Sonic and tackled him to the ground.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY, you're back!11!" exclaimed Amy. "Oh Sonic, I thought you were dead! I'm sooooooo glad you're alive!1!"

"Sonic, I ASSUME you have a good explanation for this?" queried Sally, in a strict tone.

"Honestly…she's not my girlfriend!" replied Sonic.

"Come on, don't deny it, cutie!" said Amy. Everyone had a good laugh at this except Sally & perhaps Sonic. Actually, Sonic was laughing in a nervous sort of way. Still, Sonic would rather be here and have Amy throwing herself at him instead of being locked up in some obscure Stalag with the possibility of him getting executed by the Gestapo.


	10. Sonic Says

One day, Scratch & Grounder were taking a walk when they spotted an unexploded hand grenade.

"Cool, a hand grenade!" exclaimed Grounder.

Scratch spotted Tails nearby and called out to him: "Hey kid, you gotta check this out!"

Before anyone could touch the grenade, though, Sonic stepped in and stopped them.

"Whoa, hold up!" exclaimed Sonic. "Don't ever play with unexploded ordnance! Even if it looks safe, it's not! You can get seriously hurt if it goes off! If you see an unexploded bomb, hand grenade, land mine or other type of ordnance, call 911 and get a bomb squad out there! They've got the training & tools to handle this stuff safely!"


End file.
